As a nation state, Italy has emerged only in 1871. Until then the country was politically divided into a large number of independant cities, provinces and islands. The currently available evidences point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today's Italians.

For the past 10 years I have been living in a small town not far from Rome. I kept a diary during these years of all the interesting, funny and frustrating events that occurred.
I have now published excerpts from this diary as a book titled 'Annoying the Saints . Stories of my life in Italy'.
It includes my experiences with funerals, cemeteries, bureaucracy and the eternal red-tape that Italians have to deal with on a daily basis. There are also stories of the time a accompanied my niece Anna Tatangelo as she climbed the ladder of stardom to become one of Italy's up and coming singing stars.
I sent a copy to Eduardo who may wish to comment.
The book can be ordered as a paperback or a download from:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-b ... ly/7731505I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed living it.